Gold Loopers at Last!

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Before we actually set off on our Loop adventure from Sturgeon Bay, WI in August 2013 we took several short cruises to get used to our then new to us boat. We travelled across Green Bay to Menominee, MI; north to Escanaba and Fayetteville; and across Lake Michigan to Leland. So we could have crossed our wake in any of those places. Lake conditions were our deciding factor- Our preferred destination of Menominee was a go!

We spent an extra day in St. Ignace waiting for the best weather, then on July 10 cruised about 50 miles to the small isolated Beaver Island near the top of Lake M. We arrived in time for lunch at Delhinney's, a short walk from the marina. We topped off our fuel for tomorrow's trip, noting that diesel here is more expensive than in Canada.

Weather and wave forecasts were spot on. Wednesday's waves were less than .1 meters- it doesn't get much better than that! We untied our lines at 5:20 am to begin our 120 mile trip. We did not see another boat during the first 70 miles. Our tug performed like a champ today and every day on this journey. We actually crossed our wake near Jackson Harbor on Washington Island, but did not touch land there on either end of our Loop. We returned to Menominee, MI around 1:20 pm to officially complete our Loop. We love the marina here- it has the most well-appointed boaters' lounge we encountered, and the rest of the facilities are equally impressive. We immediately felt we were "home." Fellow snowbirds Pappy and June met us at the marina and took us out to dinner and a visit to their lovely northern home.

Our daughter-in-law and her father drove our truck and trailer to us the next day, and we loaded up the boat and headed for our land home.

What a journey! August 2013-July 2018

• 9,826 miles including various side trips
• 190 locks
• 3 boats: Mara Beel I, our 42' Ocean Alexander; Short Vacation (with John and Pam Short) from Deltaville, to Georgetown, VA to take possession of Mara Beel II, and of course Mara Beel II, our 27'  Ranger Tug. The decision to downsize was a long-term plan that happened sooner than anticipated when Mara Beel I sold right off the bat. Its a long story!
• We lost 3 of our parents during the trip, all in their 90's
• 3 grandchildren were born during our trip.
• We gained numerous life-long friends.

Gold Loopers at last!

Mara Beel is for sale!

During the nearly 2,000 miles we covered this summer from the Chesapeake to Michigan, our Ranger Tug (2014, 27' ) performed perfectly, having no issues whatsoever while we pushed her pretty hard for 9 solid weeks. We have not regretted our decision to downsize at all- this boat is a champ! However, we have decided our cruising days are over due to Mark's back problems. The herniated disk he sustained a year ago makes living on a boat less than ideal. We are going to concentrate on being around for our kids and grandkids and enjoying life on the banks of the Mississippi River, rides in our pontoon boat, and wintering in our Florida home where the water is "soft" all year.

The AGLCA Spring Rendezvous

This year's Looper spring rendezvous (America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association)was held April 25-28 in New Bern, NC, on the Neuse River. New Bern has a lot to offer, from history to shopping to great restaurants. It also has bears- lots of bears. The bear is the official town mascot, and the statues represent historical and modern day figures. I am reminded of the sturgeons around town in Sturgeon Bay, WI.

Bearon de Graffenreid, founder of New Bern

The well-known pirate Black Bear'd

The Bear'er of Rights

The Sam Walton Bear at Walmart

I have more bear photos - many more- but you get the idea.

John and Mark are explaining the merits of navigating with the iPad to Bruce.

We girls had to prepare for the Rendezvous. Of course that involved pedicures!

Bev, (Seaquest), Becky, Pam (Short Vacation), Jan (Follow that Dream), and Judy (Let's Go) getting pretty toes.

The Rendezvous consists of various seminars, sponsor/vendor exhibits, boat tours (Looper Crawls), and food. We attended seminars describing sections of the Loop we will be traveling soon- the Chesapeake, New York and the Hudson, the Erie Canal, Lake Champlain, the Canadian canals and waterways, etc. The presenters were Gold or Platinum Loopers who have traveled those waters multiple times and have amassed  a wealth of knowledge about what to see, do, and expect along the way. After hearing the presentations we are super excited to travel the Canadian waterways this summer!

Mara Beel was on the crawl (i.e., open house) 2 afternoons, for which we had her in tip-top shape. We are glad that's over! Many of the attendees are in the initial planning stages of Looping and were there to learn about boat options, etc. We all love touring each others' boats in search of new ideas.

We had a great time meeting new friends and hanging out with old friends. We all share the same craziness! We will meet many of these Loopers again along the waterways as we continue our travels.

Patsy, Kay and Linda, Gold Looper Divas! (Photo from Facebook)

I don't know if all 250 attendees made it to the group photo here at New Bern Grand Marina- feel free to count heads.

Where's Waldo? Can you find Mark and Becky? We are near the back, in yellow shirts. (Photo by Kim Russo)

This was our third rendezvous, since we attended Fall rendezvous in 2010 and 2014 in Rogersville, Alabama. We learn more and have more fun every time!

Looper Reunion and Friends

The annual Gold Looper Reunion was held earlier this week here in Fort Myers. We are NOT Gold Loopers, since we have not completed the entire Great Loop- nor do we have any immediate plans to do so. (We joke that we are tan Loopers, since our originally white Looper burgee is showing its age.) At any rate, we know many Gold Loopers and enjoyed reminiscing about our shared experiences. Of course the best telling of tales happens over food and drink!

The Little River gang at Capone's

The crews of Island Time and Young at Heart at Rum Runners

Lots of Loopers at Joe's Crab Shack

Sticking to the automotive theme at Ford's Garage, the sinks in the women's restroom are tires with gas pump faucets!

The crew of Short Vacation

In-progress Loopers on Mara Beel

It has been a whirlwind of re-connecting with old friends and making new friends. Now, however, most of the Gold Loopers have gone home and things are settling down. It's almost time to start in on our lengthy list of boat chores.

Farmers Market is held every Thursday in Centennial Park near the yacht basin. In addition to a load of beautiful fresh veggies, we scored some wonderful pink shrimp, caught in the Gulf on Wednesday. Fresh shrimp are sooo delicious!

Just add brown rice/quinoa, tomatoes, spinach, onion, garlic, and olive oil. Yum!

Our Illinois friends Pam and John arrived here in their new-to-them DeFever last week. Happily, they are docked right next to us. They changed the name of their vessel from Gondola to Short Vacation in an authentic renaming ceremony involving champagne shortly after their arrival. We were invited to participate.

Marc and Michele from Marc's Ark

A toast to the gods of the winds

Sandy and Mike, friends visiting Short Vacation

Reading the ritual

A scroll containing the ceremonial words

John opening the champagne

Offering champagne to the sea gods

You can't be too careful with nautical superstitions and rituals!

It's been quite a week!